The salesman knows his goods, their strong and weak points, the classes of people to whom they will appeal. He should know, also, all about his competitor's goods, and in what respects they are excelled by his own. In short, he is the one who can give the best selling points to the advertising man.
The advertising man is expected to be a master of expression. The unpolished selling points of the salesman are worked over by the advertising man into clear, pointed, convincing English—printed salesmanship. His experience tells him how best to reach a given class; what methods of advertising are best suited for a particular class of goods.
When a selling campaign is contemplated, the plans should be worked out by the salesman and the advertising man. The two must work together and neither should undertake a new campaign, without first consulting the other.
The claim is sometimes made that the function of advertising is fulfilled when the inquiry has been received; that it is then a question of salesmanship—but where does advertising end and salesmanship begin? If sales are made by mail, the salesman supplements his salesmanship with catalogs, booklets, circulars, letters—all as surely advertising as salesmanship; in the store, he displays his goods attractively, which is a most effective form of advertising. And so, in the battle for business, victories are won by supplementing advertising with salesmanship, and salesmanship with advertising—combining the two for results.
Occasionally, a man is found who combines the creative ability of the advertising man with the executive ability of the sales manager. When such a man is found, it is safe to place him in charge of the sales division, giving him full control of both advertising and sales. He probably will require the services of a man to attend to the details of the advertising department, but such an arrangement makes the sales manager alone responsible.
Most large enterprises, however, require the services of one man to handle the advertising. For this reason the head of this department is referred to as the advertising manager, and the department as an advertising department.
SYSTEMS AND RECORDS
In addition to the technical knowledge of the printing art—type, engraving, and paper—and of advertising media, which the successful advertising manager requires, he should have the faculty of applying common-sense system in the handling of his work. An elaborate system, which oversteps legitimate bounds and enters the realm of red tape, is to be deplored, but the advertising man must have a system of records which will show at all times what he is doing, what results he is getting, exactly where he stands.
Any discussion of systems must be more or less theoretical, even when written by an experienced advertising man. The system that works perfectly in one office may fit in no other, therefore the systems described in this book are to be taken as examples of what other advertising men have adopted. From them the student will be able to devise a practical system for a particular enterprise. At the start, the system probably will be too complicated; experience alone will tell the advertising manager where to eliminate, where to simplify, where to add to make it fit.